A MCDONALD's worker has revealed why the ice-cream machine is always broken - and customers have it all wrong.
Many Maccies superfans think workers lie about the machines being "unavailable" because they don't want to clean them.
Last year a study found that out-of-order ice cream machines were the most common customer complaint on Twitter - overtaking gripes about "poor employee attitude".
Former McDonald's manager Sarah Vaught, from Illinois, told the Wall Street Journal the real reason the McFlurry machine never seems to be working.
The McFlurry dessert is especially popular with sweet-toothed revellers picking up a burger on their way home after going out.
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But Sarah said McDonald's also requires a four-hour automated heat clean every night to zap any bacteria inside the machines.
To get the machines ready for cleaning, workers have to remove and wash seven parts with a sanitising mix in a tiresome 11-step chore.
Sometimes tired McDonald's workers will begin the job before the venue has closed - telling customers that the machine is broken.
Former worker Courtney Bunting said: "Everything about the machine is just miserable.
"If someone came in 30 minutes before closing and ordered a McFlurry, would you want to risk something else splattering all over the area you just wiped?
"We’ve all been victimised by the ice cream machine."
At 24/7 Maccies branches, there is no way to clean the machine every day without disappointing some customers.
But the machines really are thought to be prone to breakdowns - with one in four branches telling fast food consultant Richard Adams that their kit was out of order.
Once broken, the McFlurry machines are also pricey to repair - so some franchises do not bother.
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It comes after a McDonald's restaurant was immediately shut and fined £475,000 after a drive-thru customer found mouse droppings in their cheeseburger.